Griff Lees
Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.
flamesreborn
I hate to say it, I swear I'm not a contrarian, but Close Encounters is a mess. The film reeks of a young, overconfident Spielberg coming off the success of his masterpiece, Jaws, and directing his own screenplay, but afraid of editing himself down because he was in love with his script. And a solid idea his film's plot is, filled with interesting characters, an eerie yet hopeful take on alien life.
Unfortunately, his film gets bogged down in the final third. Richard Dreyfuss is charming as ever, and his humor hits regularly, Melinda Dillon is also hugely watchable, and the soundtrack is incredible, one of the all-time greats, but a lot of what is setup is never paid off. Dreyfuss' family life is heavily focused on in the first two acts, but the film seems selfish, with Dreyfuss and the film abandoning his children and wife for a fantastical ending that just doesn't want to end, and plays the audience a little too long. It at times feels like Star Trek: The Motion Picture, in how it's so in love with it's giant ships and epic scale, but the humans get waysided by the spectacle. The ending is awe-inspiring, in fits, but overstays it's welcome, with a cynical character decision in the end, that left me angry and dumbfounded.
This film is a complete mess, but it's a beautifully directed one, with an incredible score, and some great performances, and it should be appreciated for those reasons alone. It's worth a watch, and maybe it will connect with you more, but for me it seemed like 1977 Spielberg needed to be humbled, which seemed to have happened with his film 1941, with bombed, and brought him back down to Earth.
andievegas
This film is a classic. It is a well made Sci-Fi drama. The story is not simple but compelling. In this film an ordinary man encounters a strange thing he can not explain. At the same a child is kidnapped by a UFO.Other strange events lead other people into an out of this world film experience! Now there is 3 version of "Record". The 1977 Original Theatrical Cut. The 1980 Special Edition. and the 1998 "Directors Revisionist Cut". However there was a television edition that combined the 1977 and 1980 versions. However that cut has never been officially released on home video. There is minor differences in all 3 cuts. The worse version to me is the "Specail Edition". My prefered version is the original theatrical cut. I love that version. It has more of the comic relief moments that were cut in the 1980 Special Edition. Hard to imagine that the original theatrical cut was not seen by the public for 13 years. Criterion rescued that version after it was almost lost forever. Now you can decide what version is the best because 3 of 4 versions are on home video releases. George Lucas should do the same with the "Star Wars Films"
Richie-67-485852
When this first came out it was a must see. It was entertaining but a little confusing at some points. Why would things start appearing out of no where? Why would people be abducted and then returned? When contact is finally made, all they do is play music? How about answering who, what, where, when and how questions like a thousand of them. Never the less, it is enjoyable and did what it is supposed to do i.e. entertain. UFO's running around like hot rods dragging awaits you. Enjoy
